Photographs from the Maha Kumbh Mela showed bodies amid belongings strewn across the ground and crowds of terrified devotees, some trying to climb over fences and under barricades, after a deadly crowd crush killed at least 30 people and injured 60 others in Prayagraj on Wednesday
The incident took place between 1 am and 2 am when a massive crowd gathered at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna for Mauni Amavasya, considered an auspicious day. Witnesses told the BBC that several devotees who were moving quickly towards the banks of the river got entangled with people sleeping near the barricades leading to the crush.
Visuals show frantic devotees trying to save themselves as security personnel struggle to manage the situation.
Around 8 am, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath, in a post on X, urged devotees to keep away from the Sangam Nose, where the crowd crush took place.
Several deaths were feared but government officials did not confirm the toll until the evening when Vaibhav Krishna, deputy inspector general of police for the Maha Kumbh, gave an update on the situation at a press conference.
“The administration quickly enforced the rescue operation and created a green corridor for ambulances,” Krishna said, according to PTI.
Some witnesses who spoke to the BBC said they had been separated from family members, who they feared could be among the dead. Others questioned the security arrangements and an inadequate police presence.
A few hours after the crush, several policemen, some on horseback, were deployed to regulate the crowd.
As rescue operations continued, devotees had to walk over the belongings of others as they made their way around the banks of the river.
By the afternoon, as hospitals and the administration were counting the dead, crowds of devotees had gathered along the banks again as they prepared to take a dip in the river.
